Three months after Merck & Co. and sanofi-aventis called off their planned joint animal health venture, Merck has announced a new name for its animal health division.

Mercks animal health division new name and logo. (Courtesy of Merck)

Merck’s animal health division, formerly known as Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, announced that effective today it will begin using the new name, Merck Animal Health. It will be known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada.

"The name change reflects Mercks commitment to animal health and its complementary role to the overall business," said Raul Kohan, President of Merck Animal Health. "We are unwavering in our commitment to veterinarians, producers, pet owners and society as a whole. We aim to generate additional value and sustained growth by continuing to provide integrated solutions with innovative animal health products and services to meet the evolving needs of our customers."

 On March 22, 2011 Merck and sanofi-aventis announced that they had ended plans to form a new animal health joint venture. Both companies mutually decided to discontinue their agreement primarily because of the "increasing complexity of implementing the proposed transaction."